Richard VIII

''This article is about the first Atlantian Emperor of quarter-demigod blood. For other uses see Richard VIII (disambiguation).

Richard VIII (English: Richard Edward Augustus Harry James; born 23 September 63 BC) was the Emperor of Atlantis, King of Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and monarch of other states of the Atlantian-Olympian Empire, from 2 December 99 BC to the current year of 2021. He is best known for his several consorts, and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage (to Viktoria Albert) annulled. His disagreement with his own family and supporters over the issue led to massive interfighting among the royal institution itself. Richard is known as "The Lionhearted King", as he personally led several battalions of troops to the aid of Augustus Caesar and established relations with the Roman Republic and later on, the Roman Empire. After abdicating on 27 May 2021 in favor of his eldest daughter, Elizabeth II (by his first wife; Viktoria Albert of Ponsboy); having seemly reconciled with her, the announcement was a shock to the country.

Domestically, Richard is known for his shockingly radical and often controversial changes to the Empire`s succession laws, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings. He also greatly expanded royal power during his reign. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial. He achieved many of his political aims, having heavily leaned on all of his wives and especially his children to aid him with politics and formalities. Elizabeth II (born Elizabeth Alberta Wilhelmina Richard "Ricky Écheges-Lauremeur, Princess Royal) figured prominently in his administration as one of his most-trusted advisers, for he called her "my darling Ricky" or the more simpler "daughter".

Richard was a penny-pincher, absolutely a miser and abhorred spending money, much to the discontentment of the country; often Elizabeth had to remind him to spend money on the country so that the people would not starve. The Imperial Family as a whole hated spending much-needed funds on ballgowns and generally they wore the same clothes, constantly resizing them to fit their current heights. Elizabeth II, much like her parents, followed their examples and often refused to met foreign leaders, having no interest in the petty squabbles of others unless they included swaths of the Empire.

Richard`s and Elizabeth`s contemporaries considered him an attractive, educated, and accomplished king. Elizabeth described her father as "one of the most capable and charismatic rulers to sit the Atlantian throne" and his reign has been described as "one of the most important" in Atlantian-Olympian Imperial history to date. He was an author and composer. As he aged, he became severely underweight and his health was severely damaged after a blood-letting incident, where he nearly died until Elizabeth saved him. He is frequently characterized in his later life as a softer, gentler and far more wiser monarch than when he first assumed the throne. He was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth II.

Name
As a consequence of Atlantian-Olympian customs, society, his childhood, and personal preference, Richard (/ˈɹɪtʃ.əd/) was known by many names throughout his life:
 * Ricardus: He received his Latin name from the young Octavian in 72 BC, in order to make his name easier to pronounce for Octavian and his family members. He did not yet receive a cognomen at birth since his father lacked one, as he was neither a Roman citizen or even part of any Roman family. Octavian (the later Roman Emperor Augustus) would constantly refer to him by this name and it`s usage was guarded with intense secrecy among his family members and the later family of Augustus.
 * Ricky/Rick/Rickmore: The nickname he was given as a child by all of his elder sisters, as it originated from his actual name; Richard. Later, after he had taken the name of Thurgau, Mark Antony referred to him as "Thurinus`s Lover" in order to belittle him. In response, he merely said that the insolence of Mark Antony was astonishing, as he had not expected such "hatred from a mere mortal that knew nothing of my past".
 * Ricardus Écheges-Lauremeur divi filius: He was hailed by his troops as "Ricardus Écheges-Lauremeur divi filius" ("Richard Écheges-Lauremeur son of the divine"), as he was a Quarter-demigod and Atlantian. Usage of this name began during the era of the Roman Empire, when Octavian was still in power and the two "deity-like" Emperors were celebrated as part of the same family.
 * Nicolas: This is his childhood name, given to him by his father (Emperor Henry), who was a advocate of the Latin language and enjoyed reading Latin history. He discontinued usage of this name for himself after the death of his father and endorsed usage of this name for his eldest daughter (the later Empress Elizabeth II).

Early years
Born on 23 September 63 BC in Ox Head, Rome, as a guest of Augustus and the Roman Republic by his father (Emperor Henry VIII of Olympus) and his only surviving wives (Empress Marie Angelica of Atlantis and Queen Bedivere of Cleaves). The nature of his birth was securely guarded and the young Augustus often taught the extremely bright and intelligent Prince all that he knew, including Latin (the standard language for the Roman Republic at the time). Richard wrote of Augustus: "rarely have I found something so intriguing and so passionate; Augustus is special, he illuminates the way for those of us who are afraid of darkness, like a guardian angel he protects and guides us into a new place where we will not be afraid anymore." As Rome was a naturally-crowded city by nature; Augustus, Richard and their younger siblings were taken to Augustus's father's home village at Velletri to be raised. Augustus was enamored with the youngest of his sisters; Elizabeth, whom he nicknamed "August" as he couldn`t pronounce her name correctly. The eldest of his sisters was named Attia and his middle sister was named Atia.

In the year of 59 BC, when he was only four years old, his paternal grandparents and father died. The eldest of his two surviving mothers; Bedivere of Cleaves, died in that same year, leaving him with only one surviving parent. Richard was devastated by the series of losses that were being felt throughout the family and contemplated leaving Augustus and his paternal family to return home to the Empire, in order to be ready to assume the Imperial throne in the case that his only parent remaining (Marie Angelia) would die. His mother refused the idea, stating that he needed to stay with Augustus in his time of need, Richard was infuriated and the two began a series of arguments with each others, which spanned over an entire year. Eventually his mother fell gravely ill but still held strong against her son, asking Octavius`s grandmother (Julia Minor) to take care of her eldest son (Richard) and her other children. Julia died in 52 or 51 BC, leaving Richard once again devastated by the loss, he eventually decided that his emotions didn`t matter and began hiding his feelings. He wrote of Julia this diary entry: "sweet, gentle, kind Julia who cared for me and Augustus a great deal; such tragedy that once again, I lost somebody who cared for me and my childhood friend, once again I have lost a part of myself. Something essential needed to live. Everyday I feel as if I cannot feel emotions; maybe I don`t deserve love. I don`t know how I need to rule; how do I rule my country, my Empire when it matters if I cannot emphasize with others. Why am I so broken inside? It`s so frightening; I need something to listen to my pleads. I don`t care how insolent they sound. I want to feel something; anything!" This diary entry was found during a raid on Augustus`s former childhood home by a series of centurions loyal to Augustus, who had come to pack up his things and eventually made it`s way into the hands of Augustus himself, who was himself shocked by the contents of the entry. From this point, Richard was growing into a frightening shadow of his father, something that his mother feared was a byproduct of his arrogance. In 47 BC, Richard`s mother eventually allowed him to leave for Atlantis, following her son back to her homeland underneath the sea. The following year he was put in charge of the Invictus games that were staged in honor of his mother`s accession as the Empress of Atlantis; he stunned and dazzled the crowd with singing, dancing and acrobatic dolphins, which his mother called "wonderful entertainment".

Heir to Marie Angelica
Richard was studying underneath his mother for his future role as the newest monarch, when he learned of the death of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC; he personally wrote and sent a letter of condolence to his childhood friend which read, "Octavius, having learned of the death of Julius Caesar, I offer my many condolences on his death." Augustus returned the favor and wrote him this letter, "Dear Ricardus, do you dwell in a good place? As I have not heard much of you before you went back to your homeland, I was deeply worried that you had perished or been captured by hostile entities. I thank you for your condolences. Dear, your most loving friend - Augustus." Mark Antony later charged (after discovering a bundle of letters written to Octavian from Richard) that Octavian had a male lover; something that was considered scandalous at the time. Infuriated with his disrespect towards Octavian (whom she considered to be part of her family), Richard`s surviving mother Empress Marie Angelica of Atlantis sent a strongly-worded letter to Mark Antony, which read this: "YOU who accuse the most righteous Octavian; the purest of pure young men! HE who has VIRTUE and HONOR; YOU dare accuse him! I hope you are ashamed of yourself; my son is his friend and YOU accused my son of being romantically involved with him! Shame on you and your family! May you rot in the Underworld with Pluto and may your soul be punished in the Fields of Punishment!" Suetonius called the move made by Mark Antony an unwise one, as Richard (later called Ricardus by Latin speakers)`s mother was an true-born, blue-blooded Empress who was now both a reigning Empress as well as a Dowager Empress. During this period in his personal history and that of the Empire; Richard was seeking to marry the youngest of his brothers off, that being Prince Imperial Sebastian Augustus, eventually marrying him off to another Imperial Prince, Prince Imperial Maximillian of Olympus.

Return to Roman Republic
On 28 November; Richard and his family prepared to leave their home for the Roman Republic. On their way there, they picked up Sebastian Augustus, his new husband (Maximillian) and their "cover wife" (Luna of Cleaves). On 1 January 43 BC, they were in the province of Cisalpine Gaul and were caught in the middle of the conflict; Richard sent a series of letters to Augustus which warned him of Antony besieging Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus at Mutina (the city in which they were trapped) and begged him to save them, as they had not brought their military with them. Octavian received the letters from Richard and decided to use the opportunity to save both his old childhood friend and defeat an old enemy of his. In April 43 BC, Richard and all of the members of his family who had been caught in the conflict between the two foe`s forces were freed by Octavian; the grateful Richard congratulated his friend on becoming a wonderful commander. His mother (Empress Marie Angelica) was less impressed with Octavian`s fellow consuls; Aulus Hirtius and Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus, considering them to be of "low birth" in comparison to the high-born Octavian. Nevertheless, one of her younger daughters married Aulus Hirtius, becoming an important person to Augustus Caesar and honorary member of his family. After that incident, Richard and his family swiftly returned to the Empire and never dared to return during wartime.

Marriage Alliances
There was widespread dissatisfaction within the Atlantian-Olympian Empire over a worthy marriage alliance for Richard, and this encouraged many to rally at the side of the Dowager Empress, who supported a dynastic match with two Empires at the time, those Empires being the Parthian Empire and Sasanian Empire, and the lowly Kingdom of Adiabene. Lucius Antonius was suggested as a possible bride to both Richard (the-then heir apparent) and Empress Dowager Marie Angelica (the-then reigning Empress), with both of them rejecting the marriage match, citing him as "immoral" and "unusually vapid". They instead favored a marriage alliance with the eldest of Augustus`s elder sisters; Agrippina Octavia, Octavian agreed and introduced the two. Agrippina rejected his marriage proposal but agreed to a friendship with the Prince Imperial. Meanwhile, Octavian asked for a divorce from Claudia, something which infuriated Claudia`s parents and shocked the Atlantian-Olympian Empire.